By Yunfeil Liu
Colorful string lights connected booths adorned with Asian art and food. Steam from Vietnamese barbecue rose in the air, while guests walked through Torii, a traditional Japanese gate, to a white three-story mansion in Northern Washington D.C.
The Vice President, Kamala Harris, hosted a night market Thursday night at her residence to celebrate AANHPI Heritage Month. More than 300 people from 41 states gathered at the event, including around 20 AAPI vendors and groups of AAPI performers.
“As you can imagine, something like this has never happened in this house before, ” Harris said in the opening remarks of the event. “It is really my joy to bring us all together as a community.”
Among the vendors, Michael Wu, the manager of L&L Hawaiian Barbecue, showcased Hawaiian cuisine at his booth. These dishes are rooted in Hawaii’s plate lunch history, where workers from diverse backgrounds and heritages at plantations shared homemade food at lunchtime, according to Wu.
“There’s so much history behind it, and it’s all in plates,” Wu said. “It’s important for everyone to see it, acknowledge it and enjoy it, because this is what makes up America.”
Other than abundant food, there were arts and crafts and performances showcasing the diversity of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander cultures.
Anuradha Mehra exhibited her artwork. On the canvas, Lady Liberty is dressed in rainbow-colored clothes with Indian accessories. As a veteran designer who worked in India for more than two decades, Mehra immigrated to the U.S. a decade ago and then started her brand. She sells functional items with bright art designs combining Indian art and American cultural symbols, which she described as “a fusion of both my cultures.”
Her brand helped her find her creative voice, Mehra said. It gave her a sense of identity. Something she also felt at the event.
“I resonate with the aesthetics here because it’s a kind of fusion and really the world we live in, right? In that sense, I feel like I fit in,” Mehra said. “I really need this sort of validation.”
A lot of vendors mentioned the word “honored” when talking about their feeling about participating.
“We were all in shock and awe when we got the phone call, ‘Can you guys do this?’” Said Patrice Cleary, the owner of a Filipino restaurant in D.C. “It’s hugely important that we collectively come together to celebrate our heritage and bring awareness as a community.”
The influence of AAPI voters is growing and Democrats are aware of its electoral significance.
In 2022, a poll by the AAPI Civic Engagement Fund found out that AAPI voters may have helped multiple Democratic candidates win crucial election races. Last year, Biden featured two Asian American small business owners in his first campaigning ad.
Many Democratic AAPI elected officials attended the event to show support for the Vice President and their community, calling for more AANHPI representation in politics.
“We need to be able to tell our story of who we are in this country. We are here to stay. And we need to be a part of the decision-making process,” Duy Nguyen, the Assemblyman of District 8 in Nevada, said. “I think that’s when people will realize that we have more power. We just need to activate it.”
“My mother, many of you know, had many sayings. And one of them, she’d say to me, was ‘Kamala, you may be the first to do many things, but make sure you are not the last.’” Kamala Harris said in her speech. “I know that is true for so many here today.”
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